Reviews

In general, the book is not great. However, I am on vacation and it is entertaining.
The first story is super lame, predictable and not really relatable. It has characters who are fans of Sherlock Holmes and the story is a copycat of one of the Sherlock Holmes' stories... But wrong. The only thing I liked about that one story is the policeman. He was a tad ridiculous.
The other stories are just... Meh.
The only one I liked was the last one, the widow's cafe; this story has a nice main character and a cool story, specially the ending, with a "staring contest" situation :)

daal1592's review against another edition

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1.0

Relatos malos, aburridos o ridículos son lo único que encontré en este libro.

El relato que le da el nombre al libro es una copia barata de una supuesta película de Sherlock Holmes y en la que, además, uno de los personajes dice ser fan de los libros de Sherlock Holmes de Arthur Conan Doyle y dice francés del tipo: "«Elemental, querido Watson», como hubiera dicho mi amigo Sherlock Holmes.". Si se pretende incorporar un personaje que dice ser fan de este personaje literario como mínimo se debería hacer una investigación previa para no colocar esas frases cliché que nunca dice el personaje de Sherlock Holmes en los libros de Arthur Conan Doyle, yo solo digo

cj_mo_2222's review against another edition

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4.0

I really enjoyed the titled novella "The Scent of Almonds" featuring Martin Molin. The other shorter stories all have surprising twists and are quick reading, but dark. I enjoy Camilla Lackberg's Fjallbacka novels, and this book was a great way to enjoy her work until the next novel is available in English.

myweereads's review against another edition

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5.0

Ive finished reading The Scent of Almonds & Other Short Stories by Camilla Lackberg. These stories are all set in the Swedish fishing village of Fjällbacka. The first is called The Scent Of Almonds which is about a snowstorm which traps a family in a hotel on a tiny island off Fjällbacka. The family is one of the richest and well known in Sweden. During their stay at the hotel a body is found. One of the guests is a detective meeting his girlfriend’s family for the first time however he is now forced to be on duty to solve the crime. The second story is called An Elegant Death which is about a store owner who is found dead at her shop. The detectives look into family and friends to solve the murder of this poor shop owner. In certain crimes everybody is a suspect. The third story is called Dreaming of Elisabeth which centres around a couple on a boat trip who have been having personal problems and therefore plan a trip on their boat to get away from those problems. The wife begins to suspect her husband as his behaviour to her seems strange where he’s taking calls for long periods of time. Playing on her mind is the death of his previous wife before who was thrown overboard. She begins to dream and sees his wife in her dreams and feels she is trying to tell her something but what exactly is she saying?? Lastly The Widow’s Cafe is the final story. This is about a cafe run by a kind older woman who has a secret but this begins to come to the surface when the police get involved due to a string of deaths that link the cafe to them.

After reading a lot of horror books a picked this up for a wee change and I’m glad i did. I love scandi crime novels and this one although it was a collection of short stories they were all excellent. I have read some books by the author before and they have never disappointed. She has an excellent way of writing dark detective stories. Each story in its own way is dark and engaging. I would absolutely recommend this book for someone that doesn’t read this genre to often as a taste of how good it is.

lisaarnsdorf's review against another edition

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4.0

A fun collection of stories! Several of them feature characters from Lackberg's series. The first story, the longest of the group, was OK. A bit disappointing. But the last three stories were great - short and sweet with cliffhanger endings (in a good way!).

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

neswina's review against another edition

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3.0

Me ha gustado mucho, un conjunto de relatos que ha ido escribiendo Camilla a desde 2006. Curioso verlos antes de que todo comenzara, me asusté al ver a un personaje en una situación "rara" y no lo ubicaba en el espacio tiempo, luego fue cuando miré la fecha de publicación del relato y solté un sonoro: aaaaaahhh vale que es de aaaantes xD

En general esta bien, los relatos son cortitos y curiosos. Mis favoritos son "Una muerte elegante" y "Café de las Viudas". Curiosos y sorprendentes.

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